Soothe Your Pain
by manicrysis
Summary: A young girl finds what it means to have hope in this strange apocalyptic world.
1. Chapter 1

Everything is gone. My mother is gone. My father is gone. My sister is gone. Hell, even my dog is gone. There was nothing left for me in the world. So, why am I alive?

Because my sister talked to me until her last breath. She told me, "Don't you give up. There will be something out there for you. And it will be magnificent. You'll find it soon, I bet. But all you need is hope. And there is hope. Just keep looking." After that last word, she made no more effort. There wasn't anything left in her. She made one more struggling sound and was gone.

The last of my strength was spent on her. Crying, I held up my bow, stretching it back until it was ready to launch. I stared at her bloodied face, taking in every detail.

Her golden blond hair framed her rounded face. Her button nose, freckles splashed on the surface, gave way to low cheek bones. Her eyes were startling, however. The bloodshot emerald eyes boring into me.

At last, I released the bow, the arrow piercing her forehead. That was the moment I realized I would no longer be living. I was only existing. Just being.

Eliza and I had been living in a warehouse. In Atlanta of all places. We were originally from Ohio and lived together on the border of Louisiana. But when the world ended we booked it to Atlanta having heard the broadcast. It told us there was a refugee center, military protection, the whole nine yards. But when we got there, no one was alive. It was a wasteland. The city had been overrun it seemed. There was no sign of any kind of life, for miles.

We then decided we needed to scout an area. The closest thing we found was this old abandoned warehouse just inside the city.

And here I was, trapped in a closet, waiting for daylight. I haven't slept for days, for fear of those things out there. I haven't eaten in days, just because I couldn't get outside. It's been a horrible few days, even without my sister having died just two days ago.

Heaving a sigh, I rested my back against the wall, my bow on one side and quiver on the other. My backpack lay on the far corner of the closet.

I remember packing. We were both in a frenzied state of panic. The local news channel could be heard throughout the house. I dumped my drawers, searching for everything I needed. Two changes of clothing, a few pictures of the family, and some soap. Everything else I wanted to take, like my ipod, my favorite movies and books—all those things had to stay behind. Before I left my bedroom though, I grabbed the one thing I would never be able to live without. The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

My sister laughed at me and showed me the one thing she couldn't leave. Her razor. I chuckled at her, glad to have a small break from the panic. But then we had to leave. We grabbed two gas jugs from the garage and were on our way.

When we came to the first gas station, we found a ton of people there already. Drying up the tanks. When it came to us, we filled the jugs, our car and left. There wasn't much left. But we got enough to make it through to Georgia. Atlanta was a wasteland when we found it. Nothing there. That's when we came upon the warehouse, and set up camp. We slept on the floor, having grabbed our sleeping bags from the car. I remember telling her we were lost in the world. No family except each other. But now, I don't even have her. I'm alone.

Alive but alone.

That's where I find myself now. Alive and alone.

Sighing, I turned into the wall, readying myself for some kind of rest. But something alerted me. A sound coming from downstairs. I bet it's those flesh eaters coming to find me. Why not just open the door and let them find me? Let them eat me to their heart's content. Sigh.

There was nothing left for me, why not? Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. That's what I had to tell myself. Tomorrow.

Suddenly, I could hear footsteps. They were walking up the stairs. Echoing against the walls. I could hear ragged breath coming closer. I readied my bow and aimed it at the door. I was waiting for them to find me. So I could kill them. My bow was swift. And I knew I could kill at least a dozen of them, as long as they didn't come at me in a group, grabbing for me, their chops biting at me.

The footsteps could be heard, closer this time. But I noticed, it was only a pair. No more had found me. There was only one. My breath hitched in my throat as the footsteps made a shadow against the door. They stopped, listening for me. But I wouldn't let them in. Not even if God told me himself. And it seemed he did, as my foot slipped from under me. I went down with a bang and a groan. My shoulder was hurt. Bloodied. There was nothing left for me. Might as well open the door and let them feed on me. The door jiggled and I somehow found my bow and notched an arrow quickly. I sat on my knees, readying myself for the door to open. And when it did, I was shocked.

Two hands went in the air, and all I could hear was a whisper of "Don't shoot me!"


	2. Chapter 2

I stood, my bow still in hand, ready to fire. His eyes were wide, hands still up in surrender. I glance him over. He seemed to be about my age, in his 20s. He was Asian, with a high forehead and high cheekbones. His mouth was small but open in shock. His dark hair was hidden underneath a baseball cap and he had on a dark shirt and jeans. To him, I was probably a horrible sight. My dark hair was a disheveled mess, my arms grimy, my shoulder bloody from where I fell. I knew I had a mean look in my eyes, ready to kill. My shirt was loose and dirty, my jeans ripped at the knees. All I needed was a good shower and a laundry day. I hadn't showered in weeks, and I know I smelled of body odor. But he didn't look disgusted. The only face he pulled was incredulous. He couldn't believe I was standing in front of him. Still alive.

"What are you doing here?" I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Did those things follow you?"

He shook his head, still disbelieving. "Not as far as I can tell. I was running from them when I heard a noise in the closet."

"Why are you out in the dark?" I questioned, still suspicious of him.

He nodded before he started speaking. "Was on a supply run when they started to come after me. I holed myself up in a building , waiting it out."

"Why'd you come here?"

"It was the closest thing I could duck in."

Satisfied with his answer, I lowered my bow and put the arrow back in its quiver. "Are they downstairs?"

He breathed a sigh before he continued, "I don't think they saw me come in here. They were in the alley when I ran."

I nodded my head, "Right."

Sitting down in the closet, I took a water bottle out of my bag. It was almost gone. Sigh. I would have to go on a search for more. "Well, are you going to come in, or just stay out there for them to sniff you out?"

He walked in to the closet, shutting the door behind him and fumbled around looking for a seat in the dark. Finally, he slid down the wall to the spot beside me, breathing heavily. We didn't talk for a few moments and I offered him a drink of water. He accepted and handed it back to me before I downed the rest of it.

"You said you were looking for supplies…" I trailed off, hoping he would finish the rest of my sentence.

He took a moment of relief before he responded, "There's a camp just outside the city."

That piqued my interest. A camp? People? Maybe there was some hope left. "How many are there of you?"

"About twenty or so."

Wow. I didn't expect that number. I gasped lightly showing my surprise.

"What?"

"I just—I didn't expect the number to be that high. Five maybe, but twenty?" I knew my face looked shocked, but he couldn't tell in the dark.

"Yeah, I didn't either," he said. After a moment of silence, he ask me something that would change my life forever. From that moment, I knew it would. "Would you want to maybe come back with me?"

I thought it over for a few seconds. Do I want to? Would it be safe? I knew there were other people, but wouldn't I be safer on my own? But then, if a crowd goes after me, I would be dead in an instant. With twenty people, there would be more people to overpower those dead things. More people, more power. One person can move quicker, sure. But a crowd of those dead things would surely have me down in a second.

I thought this over again before I responded with a quick acceptance.

"Good, you can help me with the supplies."

We waited in silence for the daylight to come. When the light trickled in, placed my quiver around my torso and did the same with my bow. I lifted my rucksack and held it in my hand.

"How many do you expect to be out there?"

"Not too many I hope. But we still have to move quick. There's a market around the corner. But we have to go back first and get my bags. I dropped them when I was running."

He nodded his head and moved to open the door.

"Wait," I put my hand on his arm to stop him from moving. "Thank you," I whispered.

He hurriedly said, "Don't thank me yet."

He nodded his head and opened the door. Sunlight filtered in through the windows, and I had to squint my eyes to see. I noticed he looked to the corner where my sister lay lifeless. But he didn't say anything. And I was thankful for that. We moved to the staircase and made our way down.

I heaved a huge breath before we walked to the doors of the warehouse. He looked at me worriedly before he nodded his head and went to open the door. Before us was a wasteland. There weren't even dead people milling about.

"Alright, I have to go back two blocks to where I lost the bags," he said over his shoulder. He craned his neck to look around some vehicles. "There they are. I want you to stay here. Cover my back and wait for me to come get you. Then we'll make a break for the store."

I nodded my head, dropped my bag, and readied my bow. He made his way down the street, ducking behind cars to make sure he wasn't seen. However, the living dead weren't walking about. Wherever they were, they were distracted by something. The streets were deserted. Papers flew about in the wind. The eerie silence was deafening. As I could only make out, the Asian's feet padding along the road.

He came back relatively quickly, and I grabbed my bag and followed him to the store.

Inside it was just as desolate as the outside had been. We made a round of the store, scanning the area for any of the dead. There were none. He hurried, making his way through the canned aisle, grabbing whatever he could fit in the bags. Then he slung one over his shoulder, and opened the other one, cramming more stuff inside. The place was almost looted out, but there were enough canned food to feed a whole family for a week. I briefly wondered how this would hold up to twenty people.

"Now for batteries," he said over his shoulder as he passed me. He threw whatever he sizes he could find in the duffle and he was out the door in a second.

I followed him outside, where we began walking toward the outskirt of the city. There were still no dead outside and my mind wandered to other places. I was distracted when we came to the edge of the city where a car sat waiting. He jumped in to the driver's seat and waited before I jumped in beside him. The car was beat up, but it was a car nonetheless.

"How long of a drive is it?" I asked, placing my bag on the floor.

"About twenty minutes," he stated, starting up the engine.

I hummed as we started down the left side of the highway. The right side was littered with abandoned cars and trucks. No doubt people thought they could fight their way out of the city when it was overrun. A thought crossed my mind in an instant.

"What's your name?" I said abruptly, startling him.

"Uh…Glenn." He leaned elbow on the window and started to drive faster. "Yours?"

"Lane."


	3. Chapter 3

The ride to the camp was in silence. He didn't bother asking questions, and neither did I. but the silence was comfortable. Unlike the silence in the dead of night. Where moans and groans could be heard in the street, echoing against the walls of the large buildings.

As we made our way up the dirt road, I looked back on the city skyline. What used to be my home for weeks. There was nothing left for me there, and now only I was here, to deal with things on my own. No one to tell my secrets to. No one to comfort me as I sit crying, depressed over the loss of so much life. I didn't know what to expect out of these people. But I sure didn't expect sympathy. Which is what I got.

I could see an RV up on the hill. There was someone standing on top of it, no doubt looking out for us. The car slowed to a stop as we reached the camp. He was the first to get out, grabbing the bags from the back seat. I opened the door, slinging my backpack over my shoulder, and carrying my bow.

Glenn was bombarded with questions about me.

"Who is she?"

"Where'd you find her?"

"What happened to her shoulder?"

The questions didn't seem to end until one lady stood before me, her eyes wide.

"I'm Lori," she stated reaching out a hand.

I took it gratefully and replied, "Lane, nice to meet you."

There were about a half a dozen people standing before me, waiting to be introduced.

Glenn took over and started with the introductions.

Shane was the first person I met, other than Lori. A rather handsome fellow he was, with just a little stubble on his face. He smiled crookedly at me saying, "It's nice to have someone else here."

Next were the sister Andrea and Amy. They were both gorgeous in their own right, with perfect blond hair and womanly figures. It seems they have eaten well since this whole thing started.

I was no doubt a horrid sight for them. I was still dirty and grimy, my hair greasy and messy, my face splotched with dirt. My shoulder was still hurting but wasn't bleeding out anymore. I looked too skinny to be alive as a man named Dale took my hand and led me to a fire where there was something cooking in a small bowl.

"It looks like you could eat," he said gently, steering me away from the group.

I nodded my head, following him. I briefly took a look back at Glenn, who just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. My steps faltered as I distinctly smelled meat.

"What is this?" I asked Dale, who looked in the bowl, taking a whiff of the stuff.

He gazed at me, eyebrow raised, "Squirrel."

Visibly, there was disgust written on my face. Squirrel? Ugh. I didn't know what to think.

Dale looked at me again, "It seems like you haven't eaten for days. Seems the squirrel is the best you got."

I nodded my head, taking in the smell again. Well, it didn't smell too bad. I guess. Squirrel would have to do.

Bringing the meat up to my mouth, I opened my chops and began to tear at the squirrel. Surprisingly, it didn't taste bad. It just tasted, different, unlike anything I had ever eaten before.

Dale stood, patting my shoulder, and walked away. I watched him walk towards the RV, where he climbed to the top on look-out.

I sighed, looking around the camp as I ate. I could see a make shift shower on the right side, behind a few tents. Tents were scattered in different places. And there were three campfires scattered as well. There was a clothesline to my lefts, along with an ironing board. Who thought to bring an ironing board? Was it that important? Next to the clothesline, I could see pails with old washboards. Again, who thought of these things?

Glenn plopped down beside me, watching me eat. I gave him a dark look and he turned his head to gaze at the ground. I didn't like eating in front of others. Especially when they were just watching me.

I heard a sigh from him and I gave him another look. "What?"

He cleared his throat, "I put your stuff in my tent. But i-if you don't w-want to sleep in there…"

I chuckled at his discomfort, "That's fine. Just don't try anything funny." I pointed a finger at him and he smiled lightly.

Setting the plate down, I looked at him expectantly. "What should I be doing?" I asked.

He pointed to the two sisters, "They'll tell you what to do. Just don't sit on your ass all day like Ed over there." Glenn pointed him thumb to the other campfire, where a large, port fellow could be seen smoking a cigarette, glaring in to the coals.

I nodded my head, "Right. I won't sit on my ass." I smiled at my new friend and stood up to talk with the two sisters. God I could use a cigarette. No! No cigarettes right now. Just wait till the night.

"Lane," Andrea nodded at me, a smile on her face. "We were just heading down to the quarry to finish the rest of these clothes. You want to help?"

I smiled, grabbing a pail of clothes.

After about a week at the campsite, I felt more comfortable around the people, and sleeping next to Glenn every night. I met Carol and her daughter Sophia, the Morales family, T-Dog, and Carl. For the most part, the children stayed with their parents. But when they needed a break, I took the form of baby-sitter.

The Morales children, Eliza and Louis, were adorable. They liked to play around in the dirt and in the quarry, looking around for cool rocks. I walked around with them one day, looking for rocks. There was a cool blue one I found to add to their little rock collection. The two were digging their feet in the sand as I stood behind them gazing out at the water. It wasn't crystal, but it was a nice bluish green color. Rather relaxing.

"Here," I said, digging into my pocket. "I found this for you guys."

Eliza and Louis looked up at me, squinting their eyes from the sun. I held the rock out in my hand as I knelt down behind them. "Here you go. Found it over there while you guys were playing."

They smiled and Eliza took the rock out of my hand, glancing it over. Louis peered at it as well, scrutinizing the bright blue rock.

"That is so cool!" Louis said happily. I smiled in response and stood.

"I think it's time we head back to camp."

They groaned and stood as well, wiping off their bottoms. I grinned as they trotted up in front of me and led the way back where the others were.

The kids were all I had to take care of. That and doing the laundry with the other women. Except Lori. I still can't figure out exactly what she does to help. A few times she went off to gather berries and mushrooms, but she always returned with nothing in the bucket. I thought something was up when I saw Shane disappear through the forest only minutes after she left. I wasn't sure what was going on there, but my bet is that she doesn't miss her dead husband as much as she says she does.

The day waned and it turned to night as we all sat by the campfire. I sat next to Glenn and the sisters as we all ate what was on the menu. Squirrel—again. There were only two people I hadn't seen much of. And that was Daryl and Merle. Everyone warned me to keep my distance. But I couldn't hold my curiosity much longer as they sat eating around another fire. Merle, I knew was loud-mouthed and racist. Daryl didn't talk so much. He just sat there and brooded as Merle would crack jokes that would only make Daryl smirk in response.

Glenn leaned towards me and said, "Don't even."

I looked at him in wonderment, surprised how he knew what I was thinking. I wanted to go over and talk to them, ask them about their day, and get to know them. But I knew the others wouldn't dare let me. So I just sat, like a lump on a log staring at them.

After dinner, most gathered back to their tents to sleep. But I decided to stay up and light a cigarette. Ahh…it tastes so good on this day. I hadn't been able to have one since last night. This had become a ritual for me. Stare in to the fire while smoking a cigarette and thinking.

I was alone at the fire, gazing in to the lowering flames. At night the fires went out. And the last person to go to sleep had to distinguish the flames. I saw Daryl take sand to the other fire pit and put it out. My interest piqued as he came to stand by my fire.

"Can ah have one?" He said in his lilting Georgian accent.

I pulled out my pack and handed him the pack and the lighter. He smirked, what I'm guessing was a grateful smile. He sat down opposite me and threw the pack back at me as he lit the cigarette.

"Ah haven't 'ad one o' these in a lone time," he said inhaling the smoke.

I smiled at him and decided to keep silent. He passed the lighter back to me and mumbled a thank you.

He was relatively nice, no wise cracks, no sexual harassment, no racial slurs. He was nice. And it was comfortable in the silence of the night. Listening to the crickets and the frogs. It was nice.

When I was done with my cigarette I told him good night and walked back to my tent.

Glenn was still awake and rolled over to face me.

"What'd he do?" he asked accusingly.

I turned off the lamp and got into my sleeping bag. "Nothing. We just smoked."

"No sexist remarks, nothing?"

I nodded, rolling over with my back to him. "Nothing."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, I woke up to find the tent empty. Like usual, Glenn was up before me. A pool of sweat had formed on my lower back. No doubt it was over 100 degrees today. I sighed while changing my clothes. I pulled on my track shorts and my only other t-shirt. Who cares if you matched these days? I knew I needed to do laundry. My other outfit was dirty again, there were still blood stains on my shirt too. Nothing can fix that. I needed more clothes. Maybe when Glenn goes on his next run he can find me another shirt to wear. I'll talk to him about it later. Right now, I was giving myself a headache. God, it was so hot out.

When I opened the tent, a nice breeze flew through my hair. I threw my arms up and reveled in the cool air coming through.

"Wha' the fuck you doin'?" Daryl's voice came in.

I smiled lightly at him, "Enjoying the breeze."

He rolled his eyes and continued walking. He had his crossbow in hand and was walking towards the woods. Must be hunting.

I looked around the camp and saw Andrea and Amy hanging up clothes. Is that all they do here? Hang up laundry? Ah, the simple life of a sexist apocalyptic world.

Walking over to them, I said, "Do you guys need help?"

Amy smiled and nodded while Andrea said, "Actually, we're just about to do another load. Get your stuff and we'll head down."

They seemed a little chirpy, but I just rolled with it. The day is hot and there's no need to be grumbling around. I trekked back to my tent and searched for my clothes. My backpack held my dirty undergarments and I picked it up, stuffing my clothes in. Slinging it over my shoulder, I picked up Glenn's dirty shirts and pants and walked out of the tent. I passed him on the way to the girls and told him what I was doing. He gave me a sort of funny look, but nodded anyway.

I shrugged and continued on my way. He had a lot of clothes for the end of the world. Granted, they were mostly shirts.

"Ready?" I asked.

Carol joined in and we were on our way to the quarry.

Carol was a nice woman. Although, she didn't talk much. I can only imagine why. I'd seen her bruises, and almost everyone turned a blind eye to it. No reason to get involved, I suppose. But it made me angry. The way a guy can just beat a woman like that and get away with it. There should be no tolerance.

We walked down into the quarry and set our stuff down near the water. I had a bucket and washboard and began right away. Taking my clothes out of my backpack, I laid them next to Glenn's. Glenn was first.

"Has anybody ever washed Daryl's or Merle's clothes?" I asked, scrubbing a shirt up and down the board. "They seem rank."

Andrea shrugged, "They haven't given us anything to wash."

"I'm not about to go up and ask Merle, either," Amy announced.

Carol, the other one with the washboard, handed a shirt to Amy to ring out. She placed the shirt in the bucket for clean clothes. Well, sort of clean—as clean as we could get them.

"So, Lane. Now that you've been here a while…and seen all the men…What do you think?" Amy asked in a lighthearted tone.

"What do you mean what do I think?" I retorted.

Andrea shrugged as Amy continued. "I mean…do you think anyone's special?"

"Oh…that's what you mean. No, I don't think anyone's slow."

They looked at me incredulously and began to laugh. I knew what she meant, I just wanted to dance around the bush.

Amy's laughter died down and she said, "Now I know that's not what you think I meant. But let me clarify…Do you think anyone's hot?"

"Everyone's hot, it's nearly 110 degrees outside," I smirked, handing Andrea a clean shirt. They all laughed again and I stated, "Glenn."

Carol gave a nod of approval and the other two just looked at me silently. I continued washing his shirt nonchalantly and then held it up for all to see. It was a button up shirt that was a crème color. "Especially in this. With the sleeves all rolled up? Mmm."

I was teasing them now, but they took it to heart and glanced at me with shifty eyes. Carol was the first to let out a good hearted laugh. Then Amy. Andrea was the last to hold out, but she just nudged me suggestively as I handed her the shirt.

I shrugged and asked Amy the same question.

She looked like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before she mumbled, "Terrance."

Andrea gave her sister a stern look and Carol just looked shocked. Nobody thought Amy would go for a guy like him. He was all muscle. All man and all muscle. He was dark too, the only other black guy at the camp, right next to T-Dog.

"What?" Amy asked, "He's hot."

The rest of us giggled at her and we continued our laundry discussing a few things here and there. Like our need for toilet paper, my need for more clothes. And, God, everyone wanted a cigarette.

So after laundry was finished and hung up to dry (except my panties, I stored those in my tent), Andrea and I sat down for a smoke.

Cigarettes are bliss in a time like this.


End file.
